Gut: first published as 10.1136/gut.28.7.900 on 1 July 1987. Downloaded from Gut, 1987, 28, 900-902 Emphysematous gastritis after acute pancreatitis LL BLOODWORTH, P E STEVENS, R F BURY, J P ARM, AND D J RAINFORD From the Department ofRenal Medicine, Princess Mary's RoyalAir Force Hospital, Halton, Aylesbury, Bucks. SUMMARY A case of emphysematous gastritis associated with extensive gastric infarction after acute pancreatitis and acute renal failure is described. This complication was diagnosed on a plain abdominal radiograph and confirmed endoscopically. Extensive gastric and hepatic infarction was seen at necropsy. Emphysematous gastritis presents characteristic haemorrhage with two further bleeding episodes radiological appearances.' These features and the over the next 48 hours (requiring 11 units of blood). endoscopic appearances are described and the At gastroscopy he was found to have multiple gastric possible aetiology in this case is discussed. erosions and a large clot adherent to the posterior http://gut.bmj.com/ wall of the gastric fundus. Thereafter he required Case report increasing inotropic support with dopamine and dobutamine to maintain an adequate cardiac output, A 41 year old Asian man was found to have acute though systolic pressures still fell at times to 60 haemorrhagic pancreatitis at laparotomy. Necrotic mm/Hg. A plain abdominal radiograph on day 30 tissue was removed and peritoneal lavage carried showed gas present within the walls of the stomach in out. The remaining pancreatic tissue, together with a linear distribution (Fig. 1). A repeat gastroscopy on October 2, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. the spleen, was removed 48 hours later after which he confirmed the presence of gas bubbles within the required intermittent positive pressure ventilation mucosal lining (Fig. 2) and an extensive area of and inotropic support with dopamine infusion infarcted gastric mucosa was visualised. Culture of (dosage 10 [ig/kg/minute). Acute renal failure super- stomach aspirate grew Klebsiella pneumoniae, vened and he was transferred to our care. Daily Streptococcus faecalis and Bacteroides species. The haemodialysis was started. Dopamine was reduced to patient died two days later. 5 ,ug/kg/min and discontinued after 48 hours. Post mortem examination confirmed the radio- His subsequent course was stormy, including a logical and endoscopic findings. In addition there was cardiac arrest on day 6 and the development of adult a mass of necrotic tissue in the lesser sac, splenic bed respiratory distress syndrome. Dopamine was and pancreatic bed. There was patchy necrosis of the restarted on day 7 because of hypotension (dosage left lobe of the liver and of the left hemidiaphragm. 5 [ig/kgImin) but was replaced by dobutamine (dosage 3 ig/kg/min) because of digital ischaemia. Discussion Despite treatment with gentamicin, metronida- zole, and cefotaxime he remained clinically Gas in the wall of the stomach may either have septicaemic with a white cell count which reached entered from the outside or have been formed in situ 10Ox 109/ml. On day 26 he had a gastrointestinal within it, and these two conditions have been termed gastric emphysema and emphysematous gastritis Address for correspondence: Dr LL 0 Bloodworth, Yshyty Gwynedd, Bangor, respectively.2 In this case the clinical setting, the Gwynedd, North Wales LL57 2PW. radiological appearances, and the isolation of gas Received for publication 27 November 1986. forming organisms from the gastric aspirate point to a 900 Gut: first published as 10.1136/gut.28.7.900 on 1 July 1987. Downloaded from Emphysematous gastritis after acuite pancreatitis 901 http://gut.bmj.com/ Fig. 1 Plain abdominal radiograph showing thickening of the wall ofthe stomach with bubbles, streaks ofgas and mottled radiolucencies along the stomach contour. diagnosis of emphysematous gastritis consequent upon gastric necrosis. The endoscopic appearances of this rare condition, as presented here, are striking and equally as characteristic as the radiological on October 2, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. appearances. There are two main factors which may have been responsible for its development: continuing pancrea- tic bed sepsis and the use of inotropes. At necropsy he had continuing sepsis within the pancreatic bed and this was thought to have predisposed to thrombo- sis in the coeliac axis and its branches. Whether coeliac axis thrombosis occurred after the develop- ment of emphysematous gastritis as a result of the continuing pancreatic bed sepsis, or emphysematous gastritis followed coeliac axis thrombosis, it is not possible to say. At the time that intramural gas was first detected in the gastric mucosa the blood pressure was low and the patient was receiving both dopamine (12 [sg/kg/min) and dobutamine (8 Rtg/kg/min). Alpha receptor stimulation appears to be the pre- dominant factor in the regulation of gastric mucosal __~~~~~~~~~~~~' blood flow as shown by the elegant experiments of Fig. 2 Endoscopic appearances ofthe stomach showing Hovendal and Bech.3 Dopamine is known to have bubbles ofgas beneath the mucosa. agonist activity at alpha receptors. Our patient had Gut: first published as 10.1136/gut.28.7.900 on 1 July 1987. Downloaded from 902 Bloodworth, Stevens, Buiry, Arm, and Rainford already shown an unusual sensitivity to alpha merits further investigation particularly when the agonism as shown by the onset of digital ischaemia at continuing high mortality of this group of patients is a dopamine dosage of 5 ,ug/kg/min. This, in conjunc- considered. tion with the reduced splanchnic blood flow mediated through alpha receptor stimulation and the clinical We thank the Director General of Medical Services setting of a lowered blood pressure, may have further (RAF) for permission to publish. predisposed to the development of the complications described. This patient developed emphysematous gastritis as References a complication of acute pancreatitis. The radiological 1 Siegel HA. Air or gas within the wall of the stomach. and endoscopic appearances of this unusual compli- Gastroenterology 1975; 64: 490-3. cation are illustrated. To our knowledge, there are no 2 Lee S, Rutledge JN. Gastric emphysema. Am J Gastro- reports in the literature of gastric or intestinal infarc- enterol 1984; 79: 899-904. tion in response to dopamine infusion. Patients with 3 Hovendal CP, Bech K. Effect of dopamine on acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis frequently require bethanechol-stimulated gastric mucosal blood flow and inotropic support and the contribution of pressor gastric acid secretion in dogs with gastric fistula. Scand J agents to both scenarios may be important. This Gastroenterol 1982; 17: 647-51. http://gut.bmj.com/ on October 2, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright..